How To Eat Indian Food

In just a few short steps, you can learn how to eat Indian food. Indian food is quite a delight to eat. But not knowing how to eat it can ruin your dining experience and no one wants to go through that. So, learn just how to eat Indian food and have a great time dining on all of the delicious dishes.

Keep everything clean. Wash your hands before you begin. Considering Indian food is eaten with no utensils and by hand, you are going to want clean hands. When you sit down, place your napkin over your lap–this will keep your lap clean and free of loose food. If you aren’t used to eating with your hands, you may want to try leaning slightly over the table so your mouth is positioned directly over your plate.

Order your food. Order some of the sauce-rich foods like curry or masala. Then, order some dry accompaniments such as naan breads, papadams, rice or biryanis–they combine very well with sauce-rich foods.

The naan bread. Tear off small pieces of naan from the communal plate and dip the pieces into the sauces and chutneys on your table. Make sure to never double-dip your bread.

Use only your right hand to eat. Throughout your meal never touch any of your food with your left hand. In the Indian culture, most people see the left hand as “unclean” and get offended when people use it to touch their meal and mouth.

Mix the rice with the sauce. Create a small ball of a mix of rice and sauce on your plate. Pick up this small ball with only your fingers. Make sure your thumb is free. Bring your fingers holding the mix of rice and sauce up to your bottom lip. Using your thumb, push your food into your mouth. Avoid sticking your fingers inside your mouth. You can also tear off pieces of your naan bread and scoop up a pile of the mix of rice and sauce and eat it that way–it’s similar to the way you would eat nachos.